Ryan Clay pleads in Kason Powell murder, gets 50 years in prison
Herald Democrat
The last of three people who were charged in the shooting death of five-year-old Kason Powell of Denison back in November of 2017 entered a guilty plea Wednesday morning.
Ryan Clay had originally been charged with a laundry list of offenses for the shooting that left Kason Powell dead and his 11-year-old brother seriously injured. However, Clay s cooperation with police and his acceptance of responsibility so early in the case led the GC Distract Attorney s Office to drop all of the charges except for the felony murder charge and the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge and to agree to allow him to serve any sentences received on those two charges concurrently.
By Jerrie Whiteley
Herald Democrat
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has left virtually no segment of society unchecked, those involved in the criminal just system have been one of those departments that had to scramble to find a new way of doing things.
Grayson County District Attorney Brett Smith said last week that they expect to resume jury trials in February.
Smith said that the county has continued to move cases with procedures like zoom hearings and sentencings. However, he said, he expects actually trials to resume in in the next month.
He said while the work that has been being done may not be as visible as some things in the past, that didn t mean things were grinding to halt over there.
Herald Democrat
In a year when a virus curtailed many court proceedings throughout Texas and the nation, two that actually took place in Grayson County grabbed headlines.
One of the two involved a public official who had too much to drink and the other involved a drug deal that claimed the life of a child.
Grayson County Judge Bill Magers pleaded guilty in June to a driving while intoxicated 2nd offense charge that arose from a situation in February. He was sentenced to 365 days in the county jail probated for 12 months. Judge Carol Siebman set as conditions of that probation that Magers must pay a $4,000 fine, do 200 hours of community service work at an organization like Mothers Against Drunk Driving or Four Rivers Outreach, maintain an interlock device on his vehicle and continue with outpatient DWI treatment including taking a monthly shot that helps curb alcohol cravings and inhibits intoxication. She also said that he must serve some time in the county jail but did not spec